All Together

Chloe; Sydney

Spotted in Bondi (no pun intended linked to her jumper), Chloe is a shrewd shopper who stumbled upon a pair of killer kicks at the least likely of times.
She's an ardent Cons lover, and was looking high and low for some neon All Stars long before the current neon trend and found these in a bargain bin while shopping for school clothes with her little brother.
It was a random find, but the shoes have become a corner stone of her look.  She works in the fashion industry for Australian label Sass & Bide and as she wears the shoes 7 days a week they have become the ultimate accessory, lending themselves to any outfit she pairs them with.
The summer may have gone in Sydney, but these shoes definitely brighten Chloe's day - every day!

Roadtest: Puma Mobium

Time to hit the pavement again in another kicks roadtest, and this time the Puma Mobium Elite is put through it's paces.
The shoes is designed to offer a unique experience as it pioneers what Puma like to call 'Adaptive Running', a shoe that adapts to your feet.
The first thing you notice is the striking green colourway, which is a as bold as some of the innovation within the shoe.  The sole for example is intended to mimic a cat's foot which as it moves has pads that spread out and contract to offer cushioning.  The human foot of course doesn't have pads but Puma have designed built a shoe that mimics this action with Expansion Pods on the sole with the unique Mobium Band that winds its way through the outsole of the shoe in a figure of eight pattern to enhance the foot’s natural spring.
The next thing you notice is the fit - these are super comfortable, in fact I can't remember the last shoe that felt this good to put on.
In terms of wear, they do take some getting used to as a running shoe as your foot learns to adapt, and in terms of a lifestyle shoe I'm sure they will appeal to many who can wear the bright colour on the street.
Overall, a nice shoe - not too expensive and a valid entry in the deconstructed world of running footwear that is so hot right now.

Thanks to Puma Asia/Pacific and Sweaty Betty PR

Legs; Sydney

In Their Shoes; Taylor @ Beats Rhymes Hype

It's interesting how a blog can help you to meet fascinating people in different ways.  Taylor is based in Atlanta in the US and runs a music site that also has a keen eye on urban style.
He heard about my video covering the 2012 Sydney Swap Meet, and ran it on the site, from there we got talking and the rest as they say is history.
His story is an interesting one and he was happy to talk about the influence of 'A Tribe Called Quest', the widespread influence of sneaker culture, and where he thinks it's happening most. 

IDYSM: Hey Taylor, thanks for taking the time to talk to IDYSM.  Beats Rhymes Hype may sound like a project just focused on music, but is it?  Give us the lowdown on what it’s all about.

Taylor: Thank you.  Initially I created Beats Rhymes & Hype to promote my music and other underground artist musics. I know personally how hard it is for independent artist to gain exposure. But then it hit me, I could promote independent people like clothing designers/brands, photographers, and entrepreneurs looking for that same exposure.  

We’re a small site based out of Atlanta, Georgia but I like to think of us as being a global brand since we’re on the internet. Beats Rhymes & Hype originally began as Aristocracy magazine.com back in 2010. Frustrated with how the site was going I decided to walk away from that project. After taking a few months away from the blog sphere I launched www.BeatsRhymesHype.com in January of this year.  Our name is inspired by the album Beats Rhymes & Life from the 1990’s hip hop trio “A Tribe Called Quest”.

IDYSM: What makes Beats Rhymes Hype different to other culture sites?

Taylor: We try our hardest to be different from other culture sites by actually searching for people doing things that we find attractive and not just duplicating posts from major culture sites. We invest a lot of time into browsing the web and the content we select.

IDYSM: As a studier of modern culture, what role/influence do you see sneakers having?

Taylor: I didn’t realize until recently how wide spread sneaker culture is. It’s miraculous how it connects so many different nationalities and people from different facets of life. I really enjoy the fusion of so many cultures.

IDYSM:  Is this a poignant time for sneaker culture, and are sneakers as important and influential now as they have been in previous times?

Taylor: I feel sneaker culture has always been an expression of self. Initially significant to urban culture, but its adoption into other cultures has been amazing. I believe that sneakers are more influential now then they have been at previous times. There’s a nostalgia that sounds shoes releases, and there are more sneaker heads now then ten years ago.

IDYSM: Please describe the sneaker scene where you’re based.

Taylor: The sneaker scene in Atlanta is remarkable. It’s such a diverse city that there’s no telling what you may find on the feet of its residents. Sneaker culture is very popular here.

IDYSM: What’s your own relationship with sneakers – do you collect, how much of a sneaker head are you?

Taylor:  I would say I have a healthy relationship with sneakers. The majority of my sneakers are Jordan’s, but I wouldn’t consider myself much of a sneaker head. I buy what I like and not what’s been hyped, lol.

IDYSM: What’s the hottest sneaker location in the world for you and why?

The hottest sneaker location in the world to me would have to be Atlanta, because it’s sneaker culture is diverse.

IDYSM: Where is the sneaker game at right now and what does 2013 have in store?

Taylor: The sneaker game right now is ok, I mean you get a lot of choices to choose from, but companies don’t give consumers enough time between releases. Companies have lowered the quality of their shoes but have raised prices.  I expect some really dope kicks to drop.

IDYSM:  I always like to end my interviews with this question… what’s on your feet right now? The Air Jordan Grey Cement 3’s

Trujillo 5

Say Hello To; General Pants

Say Hello To gives me the chance to share what's being worn behind the scenes at some of my favourite places, and for my latest instalment the good folks at Australian retail store General Pants were kind enough to let me in to see what's going down at their HQ.
I met up with Hayley, Harry, Peta and Rick who between them are all involved with different areas of the company, but regardless of the their role all share a contemporary street look that embodies what General Pants does so well.
From a sneaker perspective there are some interesting observations as while the boys are currently rocking simple Cons (although that could change as Harry does have his heart set on some slick Balenciaga's) the girls are working statement styles with some added detailing to stand out from the crowd.

Roadtest; Puma Bioweb Elite

Running footwear and apparel seems to be moving and evolving quicker than ever before with brands constantly pushing the boundaries of design, function and form at a rapid pace.
Sometimes it all moves so fast it's hard to take it all in, so when I was asked to 'Roadtest' the new Puma Bioweb Elite I thought it was time to slow things down and really take a good look at this product.
The design of the Bioweb Elite is inspired by the strength of spider web, and see's Puma presenting a shoe that is strong, flexible and durable; all key requirements for runners and lifestyle shoe wearers alike.
I put the shoe through it's paces in this short 'Roadtest' video and while I feel the shoe's appearance leans more towards function than form, there's no denying the comfort and durability here, something that prettier shoes often lack.
All up it's an interesting shoe and in this video I've given my visual take with the usual scores for style, comfort and value.

For more info on the Bioweb check puma.com.  Thanks to Puma Asia/Pacific and Sweaty Betty PR.

Marcelo; Sydney

Marcelo had travelled from Brazil to Sydney for last week's Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia, and with him had brought his own look, and approach to style.

His colourful look was finished off with the pink chequerboard Gola shoes you can see above, a pair of shoes which he claims are vintage, but he has had for some time.

Basically Marcelo throws nothing away, so he is ready for any fashion cycles to come back around as he has kept everything he has owned since the age of 10!

While his look is a lot bolder than something I would go for
, I loved his approach of being not so much a rampant consumer, but moreso a hoarder and collector which is pretty refreshing in this day and age.

Yvan Rodic; Sydney

So, as many of you will know Sydney had the world's collective fashion eye upon it last week with MBFWA hitting town.
It brought all manner of industry leaders to town, including the ever growing blogging community who have without doubt become a mainstay of fashion weeks around the world.
One of the big hitters is Yvan Rodic; aka. Facehunter.  He is without doubt blogging royalty and his work puts him in the fastlane of globe trotting fashion shooters.  He can be in 2/3 countries a week and clocks up over 432,000km per year - so when he looks for shoes he needs something that is comfortable and lasts.
He picked up these shoes in Lisbon, Portugal after stumbling upon the brand Eureka while out there.  The first attraction was the fact that Portugese shoe making has a well known quality about it, secondly, as he always dresses in blue and white, the colour of the shoes offers an injection of colour to his looks.
A really lovely guy, it was great to meet Yvan and if you're in Melbourne and Kazakhstan keep your eye's peeled as they are his (and his beloved Eureka shoes) next destination.
You can check out Yvan's personal site here, and the Facehunter blog here, and I also recommend his latest book; A Year in the Life of Fachunter by Thames and Hudson.

MBFWA Reportage Pt 2; Sydney

DAAN Launch Party; Sydney

To signal the end of last week's Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia Ex-Ksubi founder Dan Single and Australian store General Pants threw the party of parties to end a week of great fashion, and also mark the start of an exciting new venture.
The night was called 'Bowling for Fashion' which was apt considering the evening was to celebrate the launch of DAAN, a new line, that is going bowl everyone over with a teaser capsule collection due to drop in the coming weeks.
Dan has been pretty open in stating that DAAN is the alter ego designer he has always wanted to be with a colourful, high fashion streetwear hybrid collection with some, but not much denim.
Dan was accompanied on the night by his stunning fiance Bambi, and they were happy to pose for these exclusive shots so thanks to them for that - and keep an eye on the DAAN collection at General Pants that's coming soon, it will bowl you over. (Sorry, couldn't resist that!)

Say Hello To; Danny Clayton

In this instalment of Say Hello To it's time for something of a celebration as I caught up with Channel V's very own Danny Clayton.
The shoot coincided with the 100th episode of the music channel's live and uncensored show The Riff, and the show had just finished when I arrived which meant that the hosts Danny, Carissa, Marty and Billy as well as the studio were well decorated with after some anarchic on-air celebrations.
The show sees the team face some pretty exciting stuff, and for Danny the shoe brand to tackle everything are Palladiums.  With enough style and strength to cope with everything he throws at them, they're the shoe to tackle all of the 'on-air celebrations', gigs, parties, travel and even 10 metre stage dives Danny faces.

Danny and Palladium's in a 10m stage dive...yes, they both survived.

In addition to being pretty fearless Danny is a genuinely nice guy, so a big thanks to him and the team for having me into the studio to shoot and I'll be keep a close eye on what Danny and his shoes get up to next...11 metre stage dives perhaps?

MBFWA Reportage Pt 1; Sydney